A recent report by the New Statesman revealed that the number of so-called pauper’s funerals have doubled since 2019.

Katherine Swindells reports that the cost of living crisis effects are now being felt “beyond life itself” with more people dying without the means to pay for a funeral.

In some of the poorest parts of the UK, people needing a public health funeral has doubled compared to pre-pandemic levels. The public health funeral – sometimes daubed a pauper’s funeral – is paid for by local authorities in cases where people either die without any known next of kin or their family and friends cannot afford the costs.

None of the frills

The funeral is basic – a burial or cremation – with none of the frills.

The New Statesman obtained data from various councils and discovered that in Blackpool, eight people required a public health funeral in October 2022, compared to half that many in October 2019, and between April and October 2022, 26 public health funerals were conducted in total, compared to 12 in the whole of 2019.

Tower Hamlets, another deprived part of the country, had 12 deaths requiring public health funerals between April and September 2022, 50 percent higher than the same time in 2019.

Average cost of dying

The average cost of dying rose to £9,200 in the UK, according to SunLife, 4 percent higher than the previous year and almost 30 percent more than ten years ago.

Burials average £4,800, while cremations are £3,700, although there has been a small decrease in the costs of the most basic funeral, partly due to a ruling by the Competition and Markets Authority where funeral directors were ordered to publicly list their prices.

The main price rises have been in the additional services and the ceremony arrangements. Deborah Smith, speaking on behalf of the National Association of Funeral Directors, told the New Statements that funeral directors were facing the same market forces as everyone else.

Brexit impact

While inflation had affected food and staffing costs, Brexit had an impact on the price of imported coffins and flowers, with floral arrangements increasing in price by 38 percent since 2016, according to SunLife.

Lindsay Mace, co-manager of Down to Earth, a helpline for advice on funeral costs run by the charity Quaker Social Action, told the New Statesmen that even the most basic funeral was still a crushing financial burden for many and that carrying out funeral rituals was “incredibly important” to people, who often went to enormous lengths to do so, getting into debt or borrowing from loan sharks.

While there is government support for people on certain benefits, it barely covers half the cost of a basic funeral and while more and more people try fundraisers for funeral costs, other say that their family and friends can’t afford to donate.

Dan Garrett, chief executive of probate and cremation provider Farewill, told the New Statesman that their research showed that four in ten people who contributed to the funeral of a relative or friend got into debt to do so, and that he thought the situation was going to get a lot worse.

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Dave Lockwood, Senior Business Development Manager, Finders International comments; “When talking to Council Officers I have noticed they all speak about a rise in referrals, not just in the cities but across the country. It’s apparent that Councils are seeing an increase in cases and this puts more pressure on already stretched budgets.  Something that Local Authorities are keen to avoid in such bleak economic times.”

Local authorities and NHS trusts can contact the Public Health Funerals Information Service for assistance and advice regarding Public Health funerals. We host a series of free training events for bereavement teams or any professionals dealing with the arrangement of a public health act funeral. Through our founders, Finders International, we also offer a free next of kin tracing service.

Click here for more information.